


alone we can do so little (together we can do so much)

by kayteedancer



Series: November Challenge 2020 [20]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Gen, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Pre-Canon, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27654026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayteedancer/pseuds/kayteedancer
Summary: Midoriya Izuku had grown up wanting to bethe very best,likeno oneever was. He wanted to goPlus Ultra,to save people with a smile and strong Pokémon by his side. He wanted to be aHero!But here was the catch: all men were not created equal, a truth little Izuku was unfortunately very familiar with. He was Quirkless, and with no Quirk to speak of there was little to no hope that a Pokémon would approach him to be his partner.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku
Series: November Challenge 2020 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996558
Comments: 33
Kudos: 91
Collections: Interesting_Prompts





	alone we can do so little (together we can do so much)

**Author's Note:**

> Day 20 is here! And it's the first installment I've completed without a prompt in mind 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
> 
> This installment is essentially a Pokémon fusion where both Quirks and Pokémon exist, and the Hero System has expanded to incorporate Pokémon with their Heroic partners accordingly. What's unique in this universe is that your first Pokémon comes to you! I hope you enjoy the choices I made for Bakugou and Izuku. 😃 😃 
> 
> I will continue to say this until I'm blue in the face: I can't thank everyone who's been leaving me kudos and comments and bookmarking all my fics enough. I read and respond to every comment, and I can't tell you all how much it means to me to see how much you're enjoying my writing. Thank you so, so much. ❤️❤️
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this installment, and come say hi on my tumblr (@sleepeatdancedream)! I would love to talk about fandom, writing, or life in general. Or if that's not your speed, feel free to leave a prompt or twelve of your own there!
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy Day 20! Title is a quote by Helen Keller

Midoriya Izuku had grown up wanting to be  _ the very best _ , like  _ no one _ ever was. He wanted to go  _ Plus Ultra _ , to save people with a smile and strong Pokémon by his side. He wanted to be a  _ Hero _ !

But here was the catch: all men were not created equal, a truth little Izuku was unfortunately very familiar with. He was Quirkless, and with no Quirk to speak of there was little to no hope that a Pokémon would approach him to be his partner.

Meeting your first Pokémon partner was a special experience because the person didn’t catch the Pokémon and force them to join their team. Instead, your first Pokémon partner would actually come to you. And while scientists couldn’t explain it, a person’s first Pokémon partner was always their perfect match in all ways: the Pokémon’s type matched a person’s Quirk, their nature mirrored their human partner’s personality, and their wants and dreams were perfectly in sync with their human. A person’s first Pokémon partner was meant to be their closest friend, staunchest supporter, and ever-present companion.

But for those who didn’t have a Quirk, like Izuku, the odds of meeting their partner Pokémon were exponentially low. After all, every Pokémon had a typing but without a human Quirk to match to there was little to no hope for as deep a bond as between a partner Pokémon and a Quirked individuals, so most Pokémon avoided Quirkless people at all costs.

That’s not to say it didn’t still happen sometimes! Izuku had heard stories of Pokémon being drawn to the strength of a Quirkless person’s will, of them finding a kindred spirit in the hopes and dreams that person had for their life, but those were few and far between. 

As the suicide rate for Quirkless teens was astronomical considering the absolutely tiny amount of them left, the most recent account of a Quirkless person meeting their Pokémon partner was from nearly 30 years ago: a high schooler who met their Riolu just before being caught in the crossfire of a Villan Battle that lay waste to an entire block and unfortunately took the lives of both the Quirkless person and their Riolu .

It was a tragedy, but Izuku was  _ sure _ that he would be different. His partner was out there somewhere, he could  _ feel it. _ And as long as he stayed mostly out of the way of Villain Battles he should be absolutely fine!

But that didn’t stop the other kids from sneering at Izuku as they each met their partners, didn’t stop his breath from hitching as they threw Quirkless suicide statistics in his face or left red spider lilies and broken Pokéballs on his desk.

Kacchan was the best of them in some ways and the worst of them in others. While he never left the flowers or broken Pokéballs on Izuku’s desk, he never stopped others either, often encouraging his partner to singe Izuku’s belongings as he pressed Explosion burns to his arms for any perceived slight.

With a Quirk like Explosion, it was inevitable that Kacchan would have a partner as fierce and powerful as he was. So when his Cyndaquil found him, no one was less surprised than Izuku, or more full of wonder. Kacchan was going to be an  _ amazing  _ Hero, and with a partner Typhlosion by his side Villains would shiver in fear whenever they saw him.

And Izuku wanted nothing more desperately than to be a Hero too, so he wished and dreamed and waited impatiently as one by one every other kid in his class met their partners and he was left lonely. By the time High School applications were due, Izuku was still alone and when Kacchan heard Izuku was still planning on UA he sunk down to the level everyone else had been at for years already.

_ If you want to be a Hero so bad, why don’t you make it easier for yourself and take a swan dive off the roof? _

Kacchan’s partner, a recently evolved Quilava, had taken the opportunity to use Ember on Izuku’s Hero Analysis notebook and tossed it out the window as Kacchan spat his venomous “advice” and knocked Izuku to the floor. Izuku fought down tears as the blonde boy and his Quilava sauntered out of the room, leaving Izuku to gingerly pick up the overturned desks and retrieve his scorched belongings. He especially wasn’t looking forward to having to fish his notebook out of the school pond.

Every elementary and middle school had a pond like Aldera’s. They were meant to provide Pokémon a place to congregate and work out excess energy while their human partners were stuck in class, and even sometimes served as a place where Pokémon partners would initiate the first meeting between them and their human. Izuku used to sit as close to the pond as possible, staring at the multitude of Poliwag, Surskit, Magikarp, and occasional Wishiwashi that inhabited it, praying that one of them would make the leap and introduce themselves. None ever did.

As kids grew older and met their Pokémon partners, the pond grew more and more deserted by all except for Pokémon and the occasional student dared to try their hand at catching the famed “mystery Pokémon” that was said to inhabit it. No one had ever seen it, but it was rumored to be incredibly strong and was theorized as anything from a Tentacruel to a Sharpedo to a Drednaw. But Izuku knew those were just rumors; he sat by the pond every day as he scribbled in his Hero Analysis notebooks, and he hadn’t seen any trace of any wild Pokémon stronger than a Wimpod.

Sighing heavily, Izuku rolled up his uniform pants and slipped off his shoes and socks, wading into the pool. Curious Surskit and bold Dewpider skated close to him as he searched for the notebook, skittering away the moment Izuku disturbed the water near them. After nearly 10 minutes of fruitless searching, Izuku felt frustrated tears sting his eyes as he turned back to the shore of the pond only to find his Hero Analysis notebook waiting patiently on a dark blue rock. Relieved, Izuku splashed noisily back to the rock only to freeze as it began to uncoil itself. Izuku watched as the blue body lengthened, mind assessing and discarding possible Pokémon until he caught sight of the pure white fins on either side of its head shining in the weakening sunlight.

Dratini. There was a Dratini in the Aldera pond.  _ There was a Dratini coiled around his Hero Analysis notebook! _

Izuku’s mouth dropped open as the Dratini seemed to assess him with its glittering dark eyes, tail flicking over the notebook periodically and dripping water over the singed and sodden pages.

“H-hi,” Izuku murmured softly, crouching and extending a hand to the dragon Pokémon. “I’m I-Iz-Izuku. You h-have my n-noteb-book. C-can I have it b-back?”

The Dratini, which had initially made as if to curl back up when Izuku first outstretched his hand, watched him curiously for a long, tense moment before using its tail to push the notebook toward Izuku.

Isuku smiled brightly as he picked up the notebook only to blink mutely in shock as he assessed its state. There wasn’t much water damage at all; just a bit along the edges of the notebook and the first few pages as the water had seeped through the holes Kacchan’s Quilava had made with her Ember. Izuku hugged the notebook to his chest as he looked back at the Dratini, which oddly enough hadn’t taken the opportunity to run away from him.

“Did you...did you save this?” Izuku asked quietly. The Dratini tilted its head to the side, blinking slowly like a cat Pokémon, and Izuku felt a flicker of dangerous  _ hope _ ignite within him. “Were...were you trying to h-help me?” Izuku continued, straightening out of his crouch and moving slowly toward the dragon Pokémon.

The Dratini seemed to huff in reply, sliding closer to Izuku in response. Izuku’s smile trembled as the Pokémon grew closer and closer, his smile turning so bright it put the sunset to shame. It finally came to a halt a mere step away from Izuku and straightened itself up to its full height, eyes boring steadily into Izuku’s own. Izuku looked up at the Pokémon, scarcely able to speak around the fierce hope burning in his throat.

“Are… are you my partner?” Izuku breathed, and the Dratini’s eyes seemed to soften as it leaned forward to press its head to Izuku’s. Tears poured thick and fast down Izuku’s cheeks as he threw his arms around his partner. His thoughts whirled a mile a minute as excitement and relief swamped him in equal measure.

A  _ Dratini!  _ His partner had come to him, and it was a _ Dratini!  _ Izuku could hardly believe that this was happening, that it wasn’t all some cruel coma dream he was having after following Kacchan’s advice and taking a leap off the roof.

“T-thank you for coming!” Izuku sobbed, pressing his face into the slick scales of his partner. “I-I’m so happy you’re here now! I’ve been waiting for you.” The Dratini nuzzled its face into Izuku’s hair in response and he couldn’t suppress the giggle that burst out of him at the unfamiliar sensation if he tried.

Izuku had a  _ Pokémon partner _ , and an incredibly rare and powerful one at that! Dragon types were rare enough in their world, and having one for a partner was nearly unheard of. Izuku could scarcely believe that this majestic and powerful Pokémon wanted to be the partner of a Quirkless, useless Deku like himself, but he wasn’t going to question it. He needed to get home, needed to tell his Mom! He could just imagine his mother’s excited tears as her Meowstic used Psychic to twirl around the apartment happily. He had to call her, had to call his dad, had to tell Kacchan--

Izuku’s smile faltered as his thoughts turned to the explosive blonde. Kacchan...Kacchan would be  _ livid _ at Izuku having a Dratini as a partner, and he shuddered at the thought of Kacchan or his Quilava turning their explosions and fire on his Dratini when they hadn’t even had a chance to start training yet. Maybe if he rushed home he could --

Dratini chirped in the back of his throat, successfully pulling Izuku out of his spiraling thoughts. Izuku exhaled slowly, scrubbing the tears from his cheeks as he pulled away from his partner. Dratini was right; he shouldn’t worry about Kacchan’s reaction right now. It wasn’t important.

What was important was that Izuku wasn’t alone anymore. He had Dratini, and suddenly the world seemed to open up before them. Leaning up to press his forehead to Dratini’s, Izuku stated softly, “We’re going to be  _ Heroes _ , Dratini, you and me. We’re going to save people with a smile, like All Might. We’ll go Plus Ultra to be the very best.”

Dratini hummed in reply, the tone buoyant and hopeful as it resounded through the empty campus of Aldera Middle School. Izuku felt the sound resonate in his bones, filling him with certainty.

Quirk or no Quirk, he and Dratini would become Heroes. Izuku guaranteed it.


End file.
